Publishers Marketplace has published a free digital book sampler with 40 “Buzz Books” for the year, your chance to see what books everybody will be talking about in a few months.

Download your free copy at this link:

Start reading exclusive pre-publication excerpts right now from 40 top fall and winter titles, including many featured on stage and on the show floor at Book Expo America. Last year we featured over 15 bestsellers and books that went on to acclaim as “Best of 2012″ picks.

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Book Expo America, the book industry’s private trade show, is inviting consumers to attend the annual conference this year in a move to connect more directly with readers.

These consumers can purchase badges marked ‘Power Readers’ and attend the event on Saturday June 1st, one day of the week-long conference. Exhibitors can sell books directly to these attendees, as well as to anyone else attending the show.  BEA will set up a way to sell books through an approved vendor. Anyone selling books is required to pay New York state sales tax.

The BEA blog has more: “This will open new promotional opportunities for publishers. Power Readers will change how media covers BEA, bringing more focus and attention on the latest titles and highest profile authors.  Publishers will be able to  connect directly with consumers and consumers will have access to their favorite authors on a scale that was never been available to them in one place at one time.”

Officials at BookExpo America (BEA) have moved the book conference one week earlier for 2013, expecting to decrease hotel prices for attendees by ten to twenty percent.

The conference is now scheduled for Thursday, May 30th through Saturday, June 1st. The Book Blogger Conference and Remainders & Gift Pavilions will both open on Wednesday, May 29th.

Show manager Steve Rosato explained in the release: “This shift addresses the #1 issue that was out of BEA’s control which was the hotel prices in New York City. This works to everyone’s advantage … most notably, for our attendees, especially the ABA for whom hotel costs are a top priority. We are pleased to deliver this better alternative which will unequivocally deliver significant savings to all our participants in 2013. Simply put, BEA can provide more lodging at a lower rate and we are able to secure larger blocks in the most popular hotels with these dates.”

In a presentation at BookExpo America, CreateSpace managing director Libby Johnson McKee demonstrated how to make a book using Amazon’s tool. During the presentation she stressed to authors that they must learn how to market their books. (After all, they don’t have the publishers there to do it for them).

“You know your book better than anybody,” she said. “There are all kinds of tools available for your to help you find and reach your audience.” McKee encouraged authors to use social networks and blogs to help find audiences and to connect with readers that might be interested in the book in their online forums.

McKee went on to push the idea of self-publishing, which sometimes has a bad reputation of vanity press books that traditional publishers didn’t want for a reason. Highlighting the fact that authors can read readers directly through online channels today, she gave examples of famous authors who have experimented with self-publishing, including Seth Godin and Jackie Collins.

Missing BEA this year? GalleyCat prowled the floor of BookExpo America this week, collecting pictures of some of the more creative displays lining the exhibition hall.

Above, you can see Workman’s cardboard robot, promotion for the upcoming Recycled Robots by Robert Malone.

Check it out: “Robots and kids: a perfect combination. From R2-D2 to the Transformers to WALL-E, robots are a source of endless fascination. Now comes an irresistible book and kit that shows how to make ten different robots—that move—out of the most ordinary things from around the house. By delivering an experience that’s so much richer than putting together a model, this book gets to the essence of creativity and imaginative problem-solving and shows how to be an inventor, designer, and engineer all in one.”

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To promote his new book, The Festival of Earthly Delights author Matt Dojny has set up a food truck outside of the Javitz Center at BEA today.

On the menu is a taste of what’s inside the book, including spiked punch and crickets. There is also karaoke to keep guests entertained.

Can’t make it to BEA? Check out Dojny’s novel: “is a celebration of hobos and heartbreak, Lionel Richie impersonators and banana-brandy-flavored rice wine. Traveling through a completely foreign land both literally and figuratively, Boyd Darrow lets us come along for the ride as he reluctantly embraces the sensual pleasures of this world in all their awkward, enigmatic glory to ultimately find out what kind of person he wants to be.”

Wondering what to do with leftover books from BEA this year? Donate them to Housing Works.

The New York City non-profit is the official charity partner of BEA and they’ve got a booth in the back (#4681), where they are collecting book donations. All of the books will be sold in the Housing Works stores, whose sales go to helping fight homelessness and AIDS.

This is the nonprofit’s fourth year at the show. Nick Watson, director of online sales at Housing Works, said that their donation from the event usually ends up being about two truckloads. It is the single largest donation that they charity receives all year. “We usually end up selling these books for all of July and August,” explained Watson.

BookExpo America has arrived once again, bringing literary folks from all around the world to New York City. To help our readers prepare, we’ve collected some important links–both online and offline.

1. We will publish daily dispatches from the conference, and you can follow all the action live on Twitter with the #BEA12 hashtag. At the same time, the #BEA hashtag and the #Bookexpo hashtag is always busy as well.

2. 50 Shames of Earl Grey author Andrew Shaffer (a.k.a. EvilWylie) has compiled the “Ultimate BEA Party Guide,” collecting all the parties planned for the week.

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What book are you most excited about this year? Over at Library Journal, Barbara Hoffert has published her annual “BEA Galley & Signing Guide.” The handy resource will help you make sure you can find all the galley copies and authors you need at BookExpo America.

Check it out: “Because hunting through the aisles for the book or author you love can be a challenge, I’ve been tracking some of the show’s top titles, from large publishers and small, focusing on tote-away galleys from adult authors and key in-booth signings, always harder to pin down than signings in the Autographing Area. Plus, for the digitally inclined, I’ve embedded icons that will guide you straight to NetGalley—just another sign that those titles are hot.”

If you want to sample the books, Publishers Marketplace and NetGalley teamed up to create BEA Buzz Books, a digital collection of more than 30 samples of highly anticipated books–including excerpts from books by Junot Diaz, Barbara Kingsolver, Dennis Lehane and Neil Young. Follow this link to download the free consumer edition.

Rock star and memoirist Patti Smith will host a lunchtime interview Neil Young at BookExpo America on June 6th.

Here’s more about the event, to be held in the Special Events Hall at the Javits Center: “Ms. Smith’s discussion with Mr. Young will focus on his upcoming memoir, Waging Heavy Peace to be published in North America by Blue Rider Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA), in fall of 2012.”

Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir, Just Kids. She is working on a film adaptation of the book with Tony Award winning playwright. If you want to prepare, check out this 10-hour long Spotify playlist linking to the music mentioned in Smith’s National Book Award-winning memoir.